One of the most commonly overlooked industries of solar energy is having an impact on the agriculture and farming industry. Farming technology has changed considerably over the last few decades and one of the greatest emerging technologies that’s helping farmers to thrive is solar energy.

Solar agriculture is a new concept in farming that involves a dual use farming system. Farmers can install solar panels as means to make energy more efficiently as well as improve their capabilities with farming. Solar doesn’t take up extra space in the field as animals will still be able to graze amongst the solar panels and the land along the solar farms is still usable in agriculture.

Solar panels are installed in such a way that crops will not be interrupted or usable farmland is not affected. These dual use farms are able to increase productivity from the farm considerably and make use of viable land for generating power in the surrounding communities. These systems are still relatively young but throughout numerous projects across the United States, Italy, Croatia and France, impressive results have been yielded. Crops like wheat, kale, beans, potatoes and more grow successfully even under dense solar installations.

As solar technology improves in its efficiency and governments offer different incentives to people using solar energy, we see greater carbon offsets from farming as well as improved efficiency with power generation.

Solar energy could represent a new hope especially for farmers that would be interested in generating a double income with their land. Having dense solar farms and still producing viable crops would lead to a bright future for agriculture and for the future of our world.

This post was written by Daniel Massaad, owner and expert solar technician at Energy Solutions Direct! ESD is one of the premier Tampa solar companies! Our licensed and certified contractors are masters of their craft; with years of experience servicing the great Tampa Bay area and beyond, the choice is simple. ESD excels at offering you the best in solar value!